yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brian85:
I'm really hoping it's the software because I just took a few more pics just now to try and cheer myself up about the camera, but of course they came out terrible.

:(

The more I use the camera, the more disappointed I am. Sure, I get good shots sometimes, but very rarely. And I know how to use a camera. I've been into photography for 10 years.

I'll just wait to see what announcements there are at CES and I might get a new phone. I just don't want to carry my REAL camera around with me everywhere. I understand it's just a cell phone camera meant for quick shots, but there is a point where the quality should just be better no matter what, especially on a phone I paid over $700 for.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] z06mike:
Can you post some of the pics you took so we can see what they look like?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] g0del:
Why do you keep saying this? 1/800 is way too slow for that shot. h**p://imgur.com/lfF7a is what the picture would have looked like at 1/800* and it's completely washed out. From a little playing around in photoshop, a 1EV increase is still too much, and I personally wouldn't even increase it .5EV.

I apologize for the stupid url, but I haven't posted here enough to put in links.

*For the curious, I opened the original image in photoshop and used the exposure tool to increase it 2EV, since 1/800 is 2EV brighter than 1/3000.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] dbum:
This only applies to normal cameras. On cellphone cameras with focal lengths of around 5mm the tiniest smudge blurrs the whole image, because due to the short focal length the DOF is very close to the lense thus making dirt ON the lense visible.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NIK516:
I just got this app called camera pro and it lets you pic your ISO settings. This will give you some control of the noise. So it will help with image quality. Hope that helps a little
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jmbillings:
That's pretty much the conclusion I came to when I did a brief bit of analysis on some images, here. Seems to me it's cranking up the ISO to get fast shutter speeds, then applying quite agressive noise reduction which reduces image quality.

It would be nice if the app allowed us to force the ISO instead of having an "auto" setting for occasions where there's good light. Interestingly, the ISO wasn't actually mentioned in the EXIF (as you'll see in my post) so christ knows what setting it uses...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brian85:
Nexus with everything auto and flash:

Razr with everything auto and flash:

So sad. If any of you come in here and STILL defend the nexus camera, you are truly a fanboy. The nexus is on flip phone levels as far as camera quality.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] adrynalyne:
Nice argument.

Now try a Razr snap with all the light sources present in the Nexus shot. No point in comparing if its under completely different conditions.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brian85:
I didn't take those pics, just saw them on another forum.

Nice excuse though.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] adrynalyne:
You might want to look up what the definition of an excuse is. You use it a lot in this thread, and just like my previous post...it doesn't apply here either. I have a feeling you don't know what the word means.

I made no excuses for either device. Just said it was a fail comparison when the shots were at a different angle, and the lighting was completely different.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] csingh:
That's not an excuse.. Sure the Nexus camera seems to suck, but you can't do a comparison shot to show how ****ty the Nexus camera deals with the lighting, when the lighting in both pictures are COMPLETELY different. -__-

And I agree with this
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brian85:
I use a lot of excuses?

I'm the one stating a fact, saying the camera is bad for a high end smartphone in 2011, while a majority of you are coming in here making excuses for the poor image quality.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] adrynalyne:
My challenge to you sir.

Name one place I made an excuse for Nexus image quality.

No, you say everyone else is, even when no excuse is even present, LOL.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] chirea.mircea:
It seems (at least to me) that you are bent on convincing us the Nexus has a bad camera, something we do not agree with for various reasons. It has advantages and disadvantages; whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages is debatable and depends heavily on the intended use case.

In addition, the above comparison is not fair. The Nexus shot has many more light sources (the TV, the lamp near the fireplace) and a different angle. That is much more than enough reason for the picture to be as bad as it is: there is such a massive difference in luminosity between the dark and light parts that the software is confused and has no idea where to focus, thus the image is blurred and colors are distorted. The RAZR shot has much better conditions and thus results in a better image; it is also possible RAZR's software is better, but that is not as significant as the massively different lightning conditions.

It is not bad at all. Yes, it may not be as good as other phone's camera, but it has other advantages:

Zero shutter lag; press and it takes a picture

Capable of 10 pictures / second; the panorama mode takes a LOT of pictures and creates much better panoramas than what can be done with say 6 shots

Good macro capability

Resolution hardly matters; the tiny sensors aren't physically capable of providing such a large resolution with adequate quality; they are maybe 2Mpx natively and the software resamples the result. A proper 5Mpx camera would need a much larger sensors, which is what will provide cystal clear photos; this is the reason DSLRs don't have 80Mpx: they actually are able to provide an excellent quality picture at that resolution; the resolution on phones and cheap cameras is nothing more than a marketing trick. PERIOD.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] vash1053:
Haha, you guys would defend a piece of poop if you paid 600+ dollars for it.

That sounds familiar...

Who else does that...

Oh yeah, the Apple fanboys you guys like to criticize so much. The Nexus takes crappy pictures, period. The end. Not the end of the world.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brian85:
Where did I say ANYTHING about resolution? I'm not new to photography. I am a person who was telling others about the mp myth 2-3 years ago.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] adrynalyne:
You expect anything less from an enthusiast site? Really?

Get real.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brian85:
Exactly. The amount of people coming in here to defend the camera is making me laugh. I paid $700 for my nexus, but if there is something bad about it, I'm not going to turn into an apple fanboy and start acting like there is nothing bad about it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] vash1053:
Trust me, it isn't just here. Hypocrisy, it seems, is a race-wide trait.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tidbits:
He's a better one... If I wasn't happy with something important to me in the first 14 days(if it was really that important I'd use it daily) it would be going back and I will be getting a phone that works for me. Why cry and complain about something when you have the option to return it? If people put this kind of effort into something of greater importance then we'd probably solve a lot of problems within this country...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] dubeyy:
No, instead you whine about it in every single thread on this forum. It makes you look incredibly pathetic. Keep going though because it makes me laugh. :)

Some people are stupid.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] NIK516:
You know I love how smart everyone is at making there arguments but none of you are actually trying to help resolve the problem the OP is having with his nexus, so are there any apps that give you manual control over the settings so the OP can get the best out of his device?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tidbits:
Does it matter? If he really wanted help he would have asked what you asked, but he doesn't. He just wanted to rant.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Sal Khan:
I'm in the camp of the camera NOT being a deal breaker but it's pretty ridiculous that my Droid X take better photos INCLUDING panoramic shots. These are taken with GNex and it's not quality that bugs me (which is relatively lousy), but the banding.

Garbage.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] adrynalyne:
Pretty sure any help stopped after the OP kept whining that people were making excuses when they gave advice to try and help.

Can't say I blame them, either. OP posted to complain, not to receive help.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] aohus:
to those that are still saying that the nexus camera is a great camera are kidding themselves.

and for those that say 'just get a DSLR' then are missing the point. compared to its competitors, the camera on this phone is just plain abysmal. why is it that my 1.5 year old droidx takes better photos than this camera? cutting costs is the reason imo.

this reminds me of the time i bought the xoom upon release, and all the android kiddies were defending the POS tablet. I was flamed hard for it. Fast forward a year and we all know that the Xoom was a completely terrible waste of a tablet.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] haydonxda:
I don't want to nit-pick but the primary use case for a camera is pretty clear. To take photos.

Where did this come from? Resolution absolutely matters.

"2Mpx natively", "software resamples the result"? What does that mean? It's a 5MP sensor. It's not a 2MP sensor upsampling in software to create a bigger photo. You can never "add resolution".

Unfortunately, the 5MP sensor (and/or the software) are so poor they produce a less than 2MP resolution image.

The image resolution can never be greater than the sensor size but due to poor quality hardware and software the reverse is common.

Before a camera defender jumps in let me be the first to tell you, "It's a phone, not a professional photo stitching program".

OK, now that we've gotten that silliness out of the way I absolutely agree with you. And thankfully it is a phone, because it would be very short lived as a camera!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brian85:
Glad to see the previous two posters aren't blinded by nexus fanboyism.

Can't wait til CES so I can see what phone I'm going to purchase that has an actual camera worth using.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] cancerouspete:
i wont even talk about the nexus camera, but looking at your photo, its all washed out cause its too bright out, and you're at the part of the day where colors suck. looking at the shadow, what is it, 3pm?

also, YOU are the one who lives in a drab area, taking a picture of a drab house. OFCOURSE IT LOOKS DRAB. you took a picture of pavement and cookie-cutter house.

Take a photo with a 'awesome' camera, of this same lame scene at the same time as your nexus, up load both photos, and let us compare how colorless everything STILL looks

oh, and i bought the nexus PHONE, cause it was a phone, not cause it was a camera. if i wanted to take spectacular pictures, i would have just bought a camera. those who said that are right, cause the nexus ISN'T a camera, it HAS a camera. and the photos are good enough for most uses.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] haydonxda:
Oh, don't get me wrong. I disagree with your level of expectation.

What gets me is how people are suggesting that you shouldn't expect DSLR quality out of a phone (duh) and then go on to praise the camera. The camera is not competitive in today's market. It's easy to demonstrate that fact through objective tests.

The basic problem is that everyone values features differently. Unless manufacturers get everything right (see Apple) there will be people complaining about a feature that doesn't live up to expectations. And they should.

A 5MP camera on a recently released phone should deliver better photos than the GN, therefore it fails to live up to expectations.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brian85:
I'm not really talking about the colors. When I said "dull", I was talking about the quality of the photo. Just terrible quality all around.

And thanks for giving us the typical excuse of the nexus camera defenders in your last paragraph.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] haydonxda:
I just want to point out how silly this becomes. You can just easily say that for everything the GN does. For example, the GN ISN'T a phone it HAS a phone. And that the phone is good enough for most uses.

Smart"phones" are really no longer primarily phones. They're multifunction entertainment devices. If you don't believe that you just need to look at all of the devices with similar form factors that don't HAVE a phone. And all of the people with their heads down in public places with their attention on their little hand held device while not, guess what, talking on the phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tidbits:
If they were supposed to be something more than a phone they would not longer be called phones. It's primary function is a phone, but it can do more than a basic phone. A tablet for example. They could function as a phones has that radios to do so, but they are not smartphones.

By your way of thinking a computer can be called a smart"phone" yet they are not. There have been various pictures that were out before the device came out. It didn't bother me as it isn't a function that I use often. If it was and I didn't like it is wouldn't have purchased the Nexus. It works better than I have expected. Could it be better? Surely... But is it worth losing sleep over? Hardly... Just best to wait for something that fits what is important to you. Crying like a baby and trolling isn't going to change the Galaxy Nexus picture quality...
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Taskman:
I have the Galaxy S 2 as well and changed to this knowing about the camera.

I knew long before I got this phone that it would be worse since it was meant to have zero shutter lag and the 5MP was most likely the compensation to make it work with it.

But saying that the camera is still OK for the picture I take with it.

A few more settings to change without loosing the zero shutter lag would be nice but everything else we pretty much new before the phone was released.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ohnuhuh:
I have to disagree with this. It really depends on who you are. I bought my GNex to use primarily as a phone... Not a camera, not watching videos, not playing games, etc. I use it mostly to make calls and send text messages, also to check my email. Everything else is just extra to me and I'm perfectly fine with the way it handles all of it. If you're not happy with it, bring it back. I for one, am happy with it.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Spewy1:
Bollocks!

Smartphones are not "phones" they are "devices"

There are still plenty of mobile phones avaiable but the term smartphones is misleadind, , they are muti function devices! The phone element is only about 10% of the funcionality. The camera for a lot of people IS a primary concern, me included. It is THE major flaw in this device.

Roll on CES / MWC for this year's contenders for the ultimate DEVICE!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Sal Khan:
Here's the thing... when is a step backwards in a flagship phone acceptable?

If this were some sort of "free on contract" phone then OF COURSE no one would say anything.

But the very fact that it is meant to be a top of the line device (in turn demanding top dollar) means the equipment should be AT LEAST on par with previous generation devices where possible. The battery life is one thing, even if only marginally fixed by software updates, is acceptable because of the performance. But there's no reason for the camera to decline in performance when it's already been proven in devices less expensive AND older. (And to a lesser extend, I'm going to throw in the absence of Gorilla Glass as a side note)

So bottom line is IMHO: "You're buying a phone, not a camera" doesn't cut it for the level of equipment we're purchasing.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] TiltedAz:
My only complaint is the occasional camera app crashes I've experienced. Otherwise it's a good phone camera. It takes reasonable photos for what it is. I curse our $180 two year old 14M pixel Panasonic, so much delay we always miss shots of our 3 yr old. We have a 18M pixel Canon T3i DSLR too which isn't easy to lug around. There's always compromise.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] jpasint:
I'd like to know more about your statement that the sensors are not really the stated number of mp.

The reason dslr's don't have 80 mp is because they would have much lower light gathering capability much like our Nexus.

Please post a source for this if you know of one.

Thanks.

Joe
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Sal Khan:
I have to agree. In fact most of us can probably log into our mobile carrier account and see that we use it as a phone (ie: To make phone calls) far less than using it for games, data, navigation, e-communication, etc... If we demand smoothness in scrolling on par with other devices and web browsing that's faster and more responsive than the last phone we owned, why not ask the same of the camera?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ChongoDroid:
Shutter speed was my main concern seeing as if I want enlargements I got my 7d or my medium format camera

I'd say that for low light with no flash in a moving car going 70kmph that's pretty good.

Flash kinda macro shot from christmas. These little penguins are tack sharp and color looks accurate. (mind you the light fall off is warm due to yellow walls)

With the jpeg compression and then the XDA premium app's compression.. I'd say they look fine for files that are in the 30-50 kb range. No excuses here

Sent from my Google phone
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] datsyuk:
the shutter speed snappiness is great with this phone its just too bad every picture like that looks horrific. I've had some decent photos off this phone nothing too amazing though.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] adrynalyne:
Its a little late to be demanding. Get another device if the hardware is not suitable for you. Once the hardware makes it to the market, you cannot be demanding because nothing will change it. Otherwise, wait for Google to improve the camera software..

PS--They don't read XDA on ways to improve Android, so *****ing about it here is a moot point.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] skyhigh2004:
I just don't understand why someone who uses a camera regularly would buy a phone with a good but far from great camera? You knew what the camera was in the gnex before you bought it. What's the point of this thread, just to whine and complain? Get another phone or stop complaining about what everyone who owns a gnex already knows.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Sal Khan:
So you're saying I can't go back in time and give the Samsung Nexus Dev team a stern talking to?

Well color me surprised!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] brian85:
With that logic you can go buy a g1 or original iPhone.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] adrynalyne:
How many voices do you hear in your head, and do they converse with each other?

Because one of those voices must be surprised:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ChongoDroid:
Sounds like some first world problems

Sent from my Google phone
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Sarg92:
I say that the Galaxy Nexus camera is more than capable of taking great photos. I have taken a number of photos which have been printed onto photo paper and they look like great! The photo quality looks like it was taken on a digital camera not a smartphone camera. I have also had a photo taken on my Nexus printed on a large canvas and again the quality is brilliant, even at a such a large size there is no loss in quality of the image.

I have no issues at all with the camera!
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ChongoDroid:
Same here, posted a couple examples but the trolls trolled right on by. As a fellow photographer (professional not these XDA hacks :p ) i'd love to see an enlargement especially on canvas what a crazy idea!

Sent from my Google phone
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Sarg92:
The photo I took on my Nexus was shared with family on Google+ which compresses images, a family member downloaded the photo from Google+ and then uploaded to a website and had a 20x20inch canvas ordered. When the canvas arrived it looked stunning and knowing that the image came from a "terrible" camera was brilliant!

But all the photos I take on my Nexus are good enough to be printed on a 46x46inch canvas without losing any quality according to the company which create the canvases so if the phone can take photos that can be enlarged by so much without loss in quality then I am very pleased with the camera.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Sal Khan:
It's a thought process. RIM is slowly going under because nothing changes. We want the latest greatest not buyer's remorse.

And a voices inside the head reference is very Airbrushed T-shirt of you.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] z06mike:
Did you see my post about the photos with the Nexus' competitors? Look at the pictures and then tell me it doesn't keep up with it's competitors.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1430172
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Tidbits:
Your get the latest and greatest sometimes buyers remorse can drive a company.

If 100k people buy XYZ phone and 80k return it what you think happens? If 100k buy a phone and complain and cry where they are not going to see the results what you think happens? This thread is an example of the latter.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] haydonxda:
Nonsense. The two top reasons they're called "phones".

1. They're sold by telecommunications companies so marketing calls them phones.

2. Inertia.

A great example of #1 is the auto and HVAC businesses and "infrared thermometers". Sold to a bunch of wackos they're called "ghost hunting equipment".

Devices that are primarily phones but can do more than a basic phone are called "feature phones", not "smart phones".

Why have 3G/4G? Wifi? High resolution color displays? 1.2GHz dual core processors? Multiple cameras? Stereo headphone jacks? USB ports? None of these have anything to do with a phone yet all of these non-phone features make up nearly the entire cost of the device. If you bought it to be a phone you just wasted a lot of money.

You've actually just underlined my point. You say that it depends on who you are. Others might use it primarily for Angry Birds. Whatever! The point is that they're multifunction devices and the phone is just one feature.

When a person can just as easily (in fact, more easily) launch an app of their choosing rather than make a phone call the features all have the same prominence. The device "has a phone" just as it has other features.

Indeed. Older phones are easier to make phone calls with because the phone functionality was considered more important. They were sold primarily as phones and the ease of use of that functionality was paramount. As time goes on the phone feature seems to be getting less and less thought and has even gotten more difficult to access and use.

As much as Symbian stunk, it has a great phone oriented interface.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] mjohnk11:
Basically reading through and getting caught up with when I last posted on this topic, all that I learned is some people know how to take pictures and others don't.

The example a couple pages back which compared a Droid RZR (or maybe it was the X?) with the GNex was a great example of that. The one that was taken with the Gnex had plenty of camera shake in it and most likely didn't let it properly focus, where as the RZR's picture was meticulously taken making sure everything worked out right.

That's what's going on here, people who want to complain about the camera are forcing themselves to take bad pictures whether conscious of it or not. Those that know how to take pictures and are professional photographers have absolutely no problems with it at all.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the hardware, software, and of course the fast response time. I've taken amazing pictures with it, but of course those that want to troll won't believe that. The only thing I have a problem with is the lack of complete manual control, but no phones that I know of actually have that.